Hamburger Dreams

When I went to lunch with my work team today, they all got hamburgers so that was the sandwich on my mind for today’s prompt. It was Restaurant Week so there was a special menu, and I opted for a celery root soup and braised rabbit gnocchi. I was pleased with myself initially and my oh so civilized adult choices, but the entire time I was eyeing those hamburgers like a hungry wolf. My portions came out tiny and sensibly sized while they were served a platter of food complete with french fries. My dish was exquisite, but my inner child was frothing at the mouth and wanting to tear into those burgers sitting next to me with reckless abandon. In a word, I felt a bit primal in that moment. In truth, we rarely eat meat at home, but years of childhood burgers came flooding back to me in that instant and I just wanted to take a bite. Granted, I’m a decade or sometimes two older than my lunch companions, so that doesn’t help much. These days, most of what I crave is something that’s only in my dreams.

When I was a kid, we’d have hamburgers only on rare occasions. Perhaps that’s what makes them so special in my mind. Hamburger night was quite an event and made even better if it came with thick cut steak fries. Those were always my favorite. I actually love potatoes so it was nice to be able to actually taste a bit of the interior. The tiny fries are all just fried outer crust. As an adult, I soon learned that if you don’t eat red meat a lot you’ll lose the enzyme to actually digest it properly. This translates to having a burger only a handful of times of year for nostalgia’s sake and having bits of pineapple nearby afterwards to aid in digestion. This is a trick that Philippe found for me, which surprisingly works. Yes, it’s quite a bit of effort for a food I should probably simply avoid, but it’s a hamburger! I can’t possibly believe I’m so old that I can’t enjoy a touch of what brought me here in the first place. Wonderful memories of being happy at the simplest of inventions.

Other equally calorie-unfriendly sandwiches of my youth consisted of grilled cheese and my personal favorite, the grilled cheese and fried bologna sandwich. This was amazing. You had to cut the circular bologna slices before frying them or they’d pop up like a little hat. This was combined with melted American cheese and squashed between some toast. A culinary nightmare that would make Philippe cringe, but it was so delicious! While I’m pleased that I’ve grown up when it comes to food choices, as there are so many wonderful dishes that don’t cause heart attacks, I’m still fond of remembering the tastes of my youth. I was a bit chubby in those days, and looking back it’s quite easy to see why, but I still have fond memories. Those were the treats that made ordinary nights special. The ones that came out of the blue and make me feel thrilled and happy. Life is simply about having a bit of balance in the end. At each end of the seesaw there’s something decadent and wonderful to grab for just a moment before returning to life as usual. So, today, I’m grabbing out with my imagination and traveling back to a time when life was nothing more complex than hamburger dreams.

Ooh! That hamburger looks delicious even though I could never get my jaws wide enough to bite into it! I’m like you, seldom eating hamburgers any more – much more likely to have ground beef in a chli where I can balance things a little better.

Looks scrumptious! OMG, I haven’t thought about fried bologna in years, and haven’t eaten it in many, many years. However, I do have a burger occasionally, without a bun – at least it makes me feel like I made somewhat of a good choice 😋

That’s a mighty fine burger you built there, Charlie. It does look tempting. As a kid, my mom didn’t make burgers either. They weren’t part of her Orthodox Jewish culture and she wouldn’t have had any idea how to do that. Actually, the only thing my mom really loved to make (and still loves to eat) is spaghetti and meatballs. One of my (now) favorite foods is poke (sort of undressed sushi rolls) but my mom wouldn’t touch those either. (She did learn to make hamburgers eventually and I did learn to make spaghetti and meatballs eventually.)

Still, I’m really wondering about celery root soup and braised rabbit gnocchi – they make that sort of stuff? And you eat it? I’ll have the cereal and milk, thank you. While staring at your tempting hamburger.

LOL… yeah, they make that stuff! And it’s sooo good! 😃💕 Love spaghetti and meatballs as well by the way. This restaurant serves duck tacos and pig ear salad, so it’s really mainly meant for the adventurous eaters. hehe

You gotta have maple syrup on those fried bologna sandwiches…
and they have to be fried until the bologna is dark around the edge
not quite burnt but almost. That painting has my mouth watering
and I don’t eat meat at all.

Sigh now I really want not only a hamburger, but a fried bologna sandwich. Lol, I actually don’t eat many hamburgers these days either, my body feels much better if I make healthier choices, but hamburgers do br back so many childhood memories. 😃

Funny story! Glad you not only have a great chef around, but is also knowledgeable about healthy diets. If you ever come to CA, you guys HAVE to go ti In-N-Out. I think they’re world famous for their hamburgers. Your hamburger looks like their double cheeseburger! 😀🍔

Thanks so much! 😃💕 Yeah, without Philippe I don’t think my choices would be near as healthy! lol And yes… I have totally heard of In-N-Out, but in all my trips to California I’ve yet to try it! I’ll make it a point next time!

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